The Aiken County Board of Education Regular Meeting, August 26, 2025 6:00 p.m. at the District Office

Dates:

Tuesday, August 26, 2025 - 6:00pm

THE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT OF AIKEN COUNTY

BOARD OF EDUCATION

AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA

OFFICIAL AGENDA __REGULAR SESSION _6:00 P.M.__AUGUST 26, 2025

Location: 1000 Brookhaven Drive Aiken, SC

Tuesday’s meeting will be live streamed on our website, acpsd.net.

REGULAR SESSION: 6:00 P.M.

MOMENT OF SILENCE & PLEDGE: Mr. Cameron Nuessle

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Regular Meeting – August 12, 2025

SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS

No Items this Meeting

SPECIAL ORDERS OF BUSINESS

Public Participation

Josh Pniewski- State of Athletic Trainers in our schools

Office of the Board Chairman

No Items this Week

INDIVIDUAL ITEMS

Personnel Appointments (Dr. Minolfo)

The administrative, certified and classified personnel presented have been screened by the Human Resources Department, and interviewed, and/or approved by the Principal or supervisor for each location.

Update Organizational Chart in Policy CCA Organization Chart, Second Reading (Dr. Minolfo)

Policy CCA presents the organizational chart for the district administration beginning with the Office of the Superintendent. Policy CCA Administrative Organization states

that “The chart [Organization Chart] represents the framework for administration and the lines of authority and responsibility. Within the framework established, each school will

be encouraged and free to work out the educational program most appropriate for itself.”

SOAR Overview and Renaming of CIL (Mr. Postell)

After a presentation of the SOAR program and the proposed re-naming of CIL at Pinecrest, the board requested a postponement of the naming to consider other options.

Policy GCLE Unencumbered Time, First Reading (Dr. Minolfo)

In 2023, S.C. Code Section 59-5-63 was enacted, which stated the following: “the district will require the principal of each elementary school to provide at least 30 minutes of unencumbered time on each regular school day to all full-time teachers teaching in grades kindergarten through fifth grade; and require the principal of each elementary, middle, or high school, to provide at least 30 minutes of unencumbered time on each regular school day to any full-time teacher who is responsible for instructing a special education class for more than 20 percent of the school day with students who are removed from the general education setting.”In 2024, the policy was updated to include school nurses and 4k teachers, “where practical.”

The State Board of Education (SBE) updated the statewide policy regarding unencumbered time to include school nurses on August 5, 2025. This change was made due to the requirements of proviso 1.111(SDE: School Nurses Unencumbered Time) in this year’s General Appropriations Act, below.

1.105. (SDE: School Nurses Unencumbered Time) Of the funds appropriated through the Department of Education for school districts, the department shall work with school districts to incorporate, where practical, school nurses into the statewide policy outlining penalties and exceptions to the unencumbered time requirements pursuant to Section 59-5-63.

Proposal for Athletic Trainers

The District budgets for contracted athletic trainers at seven high schools. In preparation for the 2025-2026 school year, a request for proposals (RFP) was issued last school year to find vendors who could staff our schools.

CONSENT ITEMS: The following items will be voted on as a group, individual items may be discussed prior to a vote being taken.

Out of District Transfer Requests- Transfers Out (Mrs. Meek)

Board Policy JFABC allows the Aiken County Board of Education to arrange with the other school districts for the interchange of students. The policy stipulates that when students transfer out of the District, “the School District of Aiken County shall assume no responsibility for tuition to the receiving district.”

Request for Approval for Home Instruction (Dr. Johnson)

The School Board, according to the Code of Laws for South Carolina, Section 59-65-40, is authorized to approve home schooling for parents not opting for approval by the South

Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools. The program has to meet certain criteria standards as outlined in the bill, Policy IEK and IEK-R.

Submission of the Application for Allocation of School Safety Priority Funds- Aiken County Public School District – FY26 (Dr. Yarborough)

Proviso 1.77 of The FY 2025-2026 Appropriations Act has authorized the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) to distribute up to $20,000,000 to public school districts and charter school districts to make upgrades aligned with school safety priorities. Aiken County Public School District will be applying for $562,843.56.

This grant proposal seeks funding for:

Redcliffe Elementary School Vestibule: $236,000.00
J.D. Lever and Redcliffe Elementary Door Lock Project: $76,843.56
Window Film Installation Project: $250,000

Install 4500 sq. ft. security-grade window film across multiple school sites identified during site assessments.

INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: The following items are for information only and do not require Board Action.

Schematic and Design Development Drawings and Budget for the Ridge Spring-Monetta Auxiliary Gymnasium (Dr. Yarborough)

The administration, in conjunction with LS3P architecture, has completed the Schematic and Design Development Documents for the Ridge Spring-Monetta School.The current estimated construction budget with contingency is $10,102,274.00.The overall budget includes design, advertising, FFE, and owner contingency for a total of $11,537,517.00.The scope of work would be to build a new Auxiliary Gymnasium at Ridge Spring-Monetta School.The project will be funded using 2014 1% funds.

Design Development Drawings and Budget for the North Augusta Middle School addition and renovation. (Dr. Yarborough)

The administration, in conjunction with GMC architecture, has completed the Design Development Documents for the North Augusta Middle School.The current estimated construction budget is $39,205,342.The overall budget includes design, advertising, FFE, and Owner Contingency for a total of $50,663,090.The scope of work would be building of a new addition to North Augusta Middle School, select demolition and relocating the athletic fields.The project will be completed using 2014 1% funds.

Schematic Drawings and Budget for the Silver Bluff High Renovation/Addition Project (Dr. Yarborough)

The administration, in conjunction with Jumper Carter Sease (JCS) architecture, has completed the Schematic Design Documents for the Silver Bluff High School.The current estimated construction budget is $41,250,000.The overall budget includes design, advertising, FFE, and Owner Contingency for a total of $55,000,000.The scope of work would be to build new additions at Silver Bluff High School and minimal renovations of existing classrooms.The project will be funded using 2024 1% funds.

D. INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBERS